Fender Jazzmaster?

[markerisblue]

Is a Jazzmaster good for jazz? or is the name misleading so they can get people to buy it only to find out that it's not all that great? Can someone who's played one answer

[paynow]

Found an interesting Jazzmaster thread from another forum:

Fender Jazzmaster - GuitarZone.com: Guitar Discussion Forum and Lessons

I haven't played one but I'm sure there are members here who have.

[SamBooka]

Have one if you are interested

It is far and away the most comfortable playing sold body (sitting down at least).

When I first started playing jazz it was the guitar I used. As I developed my tastes started moving away from it.

When it first came out in 1959 (?) it was aimed at jazz players and was actually the top of the line model from Fender but it just didnt fly with the jazz crowd.

[SierraTango]

Joe Pass playing a Fender Jaguar (very similar guitar) back in his early days-yep you could say it's OK for jazz.
‪Joe Pass 'The Song is You' on Frankly Jazz‬‏ - YouTube

[whosgarethparry]

Mglaughlin used one on all the Miles recordings, silent way, jack johnson etc. . . or was it a jag.....

[Vihar]

Nice guitars, great for anything, only those pickups are kind of noisy (kind of like P-90s) unless you're in the middle position. No wonder surf guitar guys prefered that position, that's the signature tone of the Jazzmaster IMHO.

[hot ford coupe]

I've played jazz on a Strat, Tele and Les Paul. You can definitely play jazz on the Jazzmaster and Jaguar. If Rufus Hartley could play jazz on a bag pipe, jazz can be played on a Jazzmaster.

[SamBooka]

Originally Posted by hot ford coupe

I've played jazz on a Strat, Tele and Les Paul. You can definitely play jazz on the Jazzmaster and Jaguar. If Rufus Hartley could play jazz on a bag pipe, jazz can be played on a Jazzmaster.

hmmm.. note to self: google rufus hartley.

rare I say this .. I AM an authority on jazzmaster noise.
They are noisier than P90s. Cant give you hard numbers. If RandyC were here he would help me.

[hot ford coupe]

Whoops, I spelled it wrong. That's Rufus Harley. I hit the t and the r key at the same time.

[Atticus]

I believe it never took off because it was before its time. The goal of the Jazzmaster was to cut into the Gibson-dominated jazz guitar market with a solid body alternative to huge jazz boxes. Thing is, jazz guitarists at the time wanted hollow-bodies, unless you were named Les Paul and had your own invention. Joe Pass only played his Jaguar because it was the only guitar that the rehab facility owned, and he couldn't bring in his own. Though he did use one beyond that, he preferred his hollow-bodies, based on his endorsement deals and what he played on records like Virtuoso.

Not that he didn't get good sounds out of it. I prefer solid or thinline guitars, myself, and almost got a Jazzmaster when I was looking at a second guitar. And hey, I ended up with a Blacktop Strat, which is marketed at the hard rock, punk, and metal crowds, but my teacher prefers it to my Tele for warmer, more traditional jazz sounds. You can play jazz on a pointy B.C. Rich if you want, you'll just be getting awfully funny looks when you do.

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by whosgarethparry

Mglaughlin used one on all the Miles recordings, silent way, jack johnson etc. . . or was it a jag.....

Don't think that's true..."Silent Way" was a Gibson acoustic with a soundhole pickup, I believe.

I have also seen him pictured with an SG around the time he was making records with Miles...

Anybody have a definitive answer on this?

As for the Jazzmaster, they're cool for jazz. Long scale, kinda "plunky" (in a good way) tone...They're heavy to play standing, IMHO...fine for sitting.

[M-ster]

Originally Posted by whosgarethparry

Mglaughlin used one on all the Miles recordings, silent way, jack johnson etc. . . or was it a jag.....

Yep, I questioned this, too.

[stevedenver]

i too have a jazzmaster
and had a 63 Jag

both have soem of the most beautiful lines for electrics
i would never recommend a Jag-play one for a while and you may agree-the short scale, trem, and bridge, together with sound just arent that great-imho,unless you like surf-not meant a dis but rather an accurate descriptor-the humbucker ones may be better-the short scale is something to be wary of-because of lower tension, it affects sustain and otehr tonal aspects not always nicely, and fingering can be cramped up high -had a byrdland that i dumped because of this-thats how bad it can be

jazzmasters are that in name only i think
i like mine but-i have a few guitars to go to when i dont like it

jazzmasters are imho best described as anemic P-90s-the are thicker than any other fender pup in sound, dont really have that single coil sparkle, and have a unique tone-and thats what nice about them-

but to me its neither fish nor fowl-not rock, not pop, not jazz, kinda surf, twangy compared to a gibson but not compared to a fender-like anything they can be dialed in -neck and rolled off treble-theyre ok

they can be made nearly silent with some foil shielding around the pup and actually up and over the pole pieces inside the pup plastic case-which i have and its really good-makes a big difference-and can be made silent in the mid position which happens to sound quite good

simply, i think one needs to play a jmaster for a bit to see if its really your cup of tea-
ergonomically they are great, and can be heavy but not always

for what a good one costs-which is about 2k, imho, there are better guitars suited to jazz, including i think, a basic 335, and for a bit more, a 175

[SamBooka]

Originally Posted by stevedenver

i they can be made nearly silent with some foil shielding around the pup and actually up and over the pole pieces inside the pup plastic case-which i have and its really good-makes a big difference-and can be made silent in the mid position which happens to sound quite good

I was with you until this point. Did the whole overshielding thing on my JM.
Middle position puts both pickups together as a humbucker so that is true too.

Shielding the the pickup casings didnt reduce the amount of hum but did kill some of the high end. I was using copper foil. I had put seymour duncans in and though they were junk until I removed the sheilding. Much better pickups than the japan stock pickups btw.

Single coils hum. No matter how well you shield them this will be true. That is why we have humbuckers in the first place, isnt it?

The test I use on a guitar is this: With a guitar plugged in, in the playing position, amp on, touch the strings (only touch with one hand). Do you hear a little click and the hum level go down? Take your hands off the strings. Does the hum come back? If so then you could stand to shield your guitar better. You wont get much better than your hands-on-the-strings noise level tho. This is for your normal hum levels in a home/studio. I am not talking about noise when you are playing in a club that has a radio station on the roof or an air conditioner under the stage.

[stevedenver]

well my typing is atrocious
when im not paying attention

but
perhaps i overstated things-not quite silent-but so much so it is almost as noise free as a humbucker

what i can tell you is that by using thin sheilding foil, which btw SD does on special jmaster pups, they become nearly silent-nothin like regular single coils in terms of interference or hum

my guitar has these SD wrapped pups

[Jake Hanlon]

i would like to drive a jag...

I had a student who recently graduated played on a Jazzmaster after playing some generic hollowbody for years. It sounded pretty good I thought, it was sort of surprising if I'm honest, I didn't think it was going to be as warm as it ended up being, never judge a book they say.

[funkmp]

McLaughlin used a Fender Mustang on those Miles Davis sessions

[Loobs]

Two words: Nels Cline